Age of candidacy is the minimum age at which a person can legally qualify to hold certain elected government offices. Most often, it also determines the age at which a person may be eligible to stand for an election or be granted ballot access. The framers of the Constitution of the U.S. as well as the drafters of constitutions for most of the individual states set a minimum age for a person to be eligible for elective office.

In the U.S., a person must be at least 35 years of age to be President or Vice President, 30 years to be a senator, or 25 years to be a representative, as specified in the U.S. Constitution. Most states in the U.S. also have age requirements for the offices of governor, state senator, and state representative.